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Original poster

Another 9/11 thread made me think.....

39 replies

BertrandRussell · 11/09/2019 19:55

.... am I the only adult in the world never to have seen the footage of the Twin Towers? I had small children with me and listened to the news on headphones- then I decided not to watch it. And I never have.

OP posts:

Frangible · 13/09/2019 10:36

Fair enough. I just think that in avoiding seeing, even once, footage which has been repeated endlessly in the media for 18 years, there must be an element of self-consciously performing competitive sensitivity.

PleaseGoogleIt · 13/09/2019 10:40

I was a young child.. I must have seen them hundreds of time.

You don't see them just scrolling through social media? What do you do when it's on the news?

formerbabe · 13/09/2019 10:57

I'm amazed curiousity hasn't got the better of you.

2beautifulbabs · 13/09/2019 11:11

I remember it coming home from school and watching it on tv with my younger brother and my mum trying to frantically get hold of my uncle who at the time was living out in America but like you op I've not sat down to watch a documentary of the event I've read some stories of what some people witnessed and what happened to them and that was sad enough lots of innocent lives lost that day😞

picklemepopcorn · 13/09/2019 11:48

I'm with Bert on this- I actively avoid watching anything of this kind. It feels a bit disrespectful. Also, selfishly, I struggle managing my emotions anyway and wouldn't want to add horror on top of horror. I don't watch disaster movies either.

Frangible · 13/09/2019 12:06

I don't watch 9/11 documentaries, or give headspace to online frothing about conspiracies, but athough I'm not some kind of mass death ghoul, I watch the BBC news and read newspapers in paper and online form, and I would have said it was very difficult to altogether avoid footage in the news in the weeks and months afterwards, even if you haven't sought it out.

darkriver19886 · 13/09/2019 12:15

I have seen the buildings on fire but, I have never watched the footage. I am not inclined to watch such violence.

1984isnow · 13/09/2019 12:16

I don't think I've ever set out to watch it. I might have seen a clip of it 'in passing' if that makes sense, if it's been replayed on the news or doc, but I can't recall nor differentiate whether I'm thinking of (for eg) a movie scene or something else similar to it.

Original poster

BertrandRussell · 13/09/2019 12:26

I love it when people use the expression “virtue signalling”. It means I don’t need to give any more brain space to their views.

OP posts:

BertieBotts · 13/09/2019 12:32

It has not been repeated endlessly for 18 years. It was repeated a lot at the time and on the first few anniversaries, and since then it has not been shown on the news or casually at all. You can see footage of it if you seek out documentary programmes or if you look for the news reels from the time.

I have definitely seen it several times, but I was only 12 when it happened and quite a young 12 at that - I feel that I didn't really process it as "seeing" even one death at the time let alone hundreds/thousands. I don't think I processed what happened at all actually until the 10 year anniversary when I really sat down and read people's stories etc.

Biancadelrioisback · 13/09/2019 12:37

I dont think I've seen the whole thing.
I was 11 when it happened and I remember my mam turning the TV on when I got home from school. It was on, but as I was 11, I wasn't that interested in the news so excused myself to walk the dog. When I got back she told me what happened and I saw bits and pieces on the TV. Nothing I really remember except seeing smoke coming out of the tower.
I've avoided the footage but have seen snippets and stills on TV. I avoid programs about it too

I used to be a fan on Bones the TV series which had an episode about the attack on the pentagon which made me want to learn a bit more about what happened. I've read a lot about the attacks now but I still haven't seen the footage. I don't think I can.

Frangible · 13/09/2019 12:39

I love it when people use the expression “virtue signalling”. It means I don’t need to give any more brain space to their views.

How else would you describe a grown adult who seems to view covering their eyes/turning away/switching off the TV during news bulletins as a higher kind of response to the aftermath of a terrorist attack?

ThePolishWombat · 13/09/2019 12:43

In a way, I wish I hadn’t seen it.
I was 7 years old and watched it as it happened, live on the news. Watched the second plane hit - I remember my Nana shouting out that there was another plane, but my mum was initially adamant that it was just a replay of the first one....then realised no it wasn’t. And no, this wasn’t some dreadful accident either.
I also remember the newspaper a few days later, when the famous image of “the falling man” was literally the full front page. That terrified me.

Damntheman · 13/09/2019 14:02

I was a teenager in school when it happened. I've seen the footage, I feel it was important for me to witness. Important for me to register the full horror in order to burn a need into my mind that I must do all I can to try to ensure something like that doesn't happen again. I feel the same way about war photography, I think it's far too easy to dismiss something awful if you can shut it away without having the visual, so I make myself look.

It's personal though, for me that's how it is. For others not seeing the footage is what feels respectful and that's also fine. I hope those of you who actively choose not to see it manage to continue with that.

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